Europe shares end lower for 4th day; utilities dip
* FTSEurofirst 300 falls 0.8 pct; ends lower for 4th day
* Utilities slip; energy shares track weaker crude
* Financials, miners advance
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - European equities ended down for a fourth straight session on Tuesday, led lower by utilities and energy shares, as investors remained nervous ahead of earnings figures and worries about the pace of global economic recovery.
The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares finished 0.8 percent lower at 826.36 points after rising to a high of 840.27. But the index, which fell 45 percent in 2008, is still up 28 percent since hitting a record low in early March.
Utilities shares were among top decliners, with GDF Suez (GSZ.PA), E.ON (EONGn.DE), National Grid (NG.L) and Centrica (CNA.L) slipping 1.6-3.8 percent.
Energy shares tracked crude oil prices CLc1, which fell 2 percent to trade below $63 a barrel. Royal Dutch Shell (RDSb.L), Total (TOTF.PA) and Cairn Energy (CNE.L) fell 1.1-1.6 percent.
Elsewhere in the sector, Repsol (REP.MC) fell 1.6 percent, in line with broader market. Sources said on Tuesday that China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), the country's largest oil company, could pay up to $14.5 billion for 75 percent of Spanish oil major's Argentine unit YPF. [ID:nHKG13625]
"The markets are in a consolidation mode," said Andrew Bell, head of research at Rensburg Sheppards. "To propel the markets higher, we have got to see evidence of the turning point in earnings and of the recovery and economic growth moving from less bad to a little bit better."
"I think that so much stimulus has been thrown at these economies that the risk of a significant downside disappointment is quite limited," he added.
The OECD said that governments risk killing economic recovery if they withdraw stimulus spending too fast, and added that the name of the game was to move from policy-driven recovery to a self-sustaining growth. [ID:nLAG003586]
However, Germany provided a glimmer of hope for a global recovery, reporting an upturn in manufacturing orders.
Pharmaceutical stocks, generally seen as defensive shares, also slipped. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L), Novartis (NOVN.VX) and Roche (ROG.VX) fell 0.5-1.1 percent.
"We are bouncing around on very low volumes," said Howard Wheeldon, strategist at BGC Partners, in London. "We may continue moving sideways for many months. The worst of the crisis may be over, but we're not seeing recovery."
